First of all, I hope all of you had a very merry Christmas! Mine was amazing and I loved every moment of it! We only had sacrament meeting so we were able to go to both Yuen Long 1 and 2 wards which was special. After church we had our Christmas miracle of Alice getting baptized!!! She was so happy and she even cried when she bore her testimony. Alice is honestly amazing and every challenge we went through with her made her stronger and better in the end. I was SO happy! :) The best Christmas present ever!

I also found out some surprising news last week. Our stake president thinks it would be better for one set of missionaries to cover one ward instead of two missionaries covering two wards, so as of next week, I will no longer be in my baby area of Yuen Long 1 :( Sister Meh and I will cover Yuen Long 2 and the elders will cover Yuen Long 1. So I moving across the street haha! I REALLY don't want to leave Yuen Long 1 and all the people I am teaching there, but I know this is what the Lord wants me to do. There is someone in Yuen Long 2 that's waiting for me so now I have to go and find them. I will still get to see all of the ward members and most of the investigators every Sunday, so that's a blessing!

There is so much that has happened over the past week but I have no time to write about all of it lol There are lots of pictures to document it so you can read the captions to see what I've been up to lately with all the Christmas festivities! :) I love all of you! Now it's time to get ready for New Year's! :)

Sunday, December 18, 2016

This might be the shortest email ever, but there hasn't been much excitement this past week. Next week's email will be packed with stuff though so hopefully it will make up for this week's email where I'm slacking.

This week has been good but a little slower. We weren't able to contact and meet with a lot of people this past week so the numbers were a little lower, but we were still busy! We have been trying to really concentrate our efforts on finding new investigators in Yuen Long 2 area. We tried to go knocking on doors but realized that is not very productive because almost all of the houses have a gate or fence in front of their door so we can't even knock on the door haha! So if we want to find a new investigator, we discovered we are going to have to go on the streets and in members' houses.

Our investigators are still doing okay! We were able to teach Alice's last lesson yesterday and she is ready for her baptism on Sunday. I am SOOO excited for her baptism next week!!! :) She says she is both nervous and excited and not really sure how she feels lol She's doing great though! Laahn Je is still struggling with smoking so keep her in your prayers! She also doesn't have a huge desire to come to church because she thought it was a little boring last time and she didn't understand anything that they were saying. I can't really help the language barrier, but I'm hoping we can get her to come again and really help her recognize the Spirit.

I hope all of you have an AMAZING Christmas but don't forget the real reason for this season and to light the world! I am so grateful for the Savior's birth and all that He did while He was on this earth. I know that as we humble ourselves and become like Him, we will begin to see even more miracles and blessings in our lives. Merry Christmas Everyone! Singdaan Faailohk Leihdieh!

Scripture of the Week: Revelation 3:20 The Lord is at our door knocking, waiting for us to let Him in. So answer the door and let Him in.

Quote of the Week: Most homes have a room for Mark, a room for John -- bedrooms, eating rooms, playrooms --- but I ask the fundamental question, "Is there room for the Son of Almighty God, our Savior, and our Redeemer?" (Thomas S. Monson)

Sister Maggie Shiffert施姊妹

Happy 1-Year-in-Hong-Kong-Aversary!​Welcome to the Yuen Long english class!

Merry Christmas from the Yuen Long sisters, Sister Meh and Sister Shiffert!

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

This is going to be a short email but I hope all of you had a great week and are lighting the world! The Christmas spirit is starting to fill the air here (even though the weather still feels more like summer haha!) and I am getting so excited for Christmas! I am so happy and blessed that I get to share the Christmas spirit with everyone in Hong Kong, especially those who may not have heard about Jesus Christ before! Time is seriously going by so quickly though! I can't believe this is my second Christmas in Hong Kong! Time needs to slow down but it just keeps going by faster and faster!

Our investigators are doing pretty good! Alice had her baptism interview yesterday and she passed! She is going to be baptized on Christmas! :) I am honestly SO excited! I have been on this rollercoaster ride with Alice for the past 6 months, and I think now she really is pretty solid. The Lord is helping her have her own experiences that are building her faith and testimony. I was a little concerned about Alice's interview because when we taught her right before her interview, she didn't have the strongest testimony of Thomas S. Monson and living prophets. She prayed about it before but didn't receive the answer she was looking for, but I think in the lesson, she was able to feel the Spirit confirm to her that what we were telling her about Thomas S. Monson was true. The gift of the Holy Ghost really is one of the best gifts anyone could receive and I am so happy that Alice will receive it on New Year's Day. Baptized on Christmas and receive the Holy Ghost on New Year's. That's the way to end and start the year!

So I failed to mentioned this last week, but Sister Leonard was transferred to Tsuen Wan last week! :( We had been living together for 13 months and it was finally time to say goodbye. I can still see her on P-Days and such though, so it's ok :) Now Sister Meh is the new sister training leader with me! It is so nice to have your companion as the other sister training leader because then we don't have to coordinate schedules with another companionship lol

Sorry this is so short but I love and miss you all! Keep being the amazing people I know you are! :)

Scripture/Quote of the Week: Let the Savior be your caregiver. Lean on His ample arm. Accept His assurance: "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (Robert D. Hales)

Sister Maggie Shiffert施姊妹

It was our last day with Sister Leonard so we celebrated by eating taam jai!

It was Laahn Je's birthday last week so we bought cake and had a belated celebration :) Happy Birthday Laahn Je!

​We helped decorate the church for Christmas with some of the members.

​Merry Christmas!

We had dinner last night with our stake president and his wife. I love the Chans!

Then we also ate with the Ng Family.....

​.....And then the Tsang Family! It was a week full of cheng-outs with members haha! Those don't come every day like they do in America.

Sunday, December 4, 2016

I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying this Christmas season! Life is busy as usual but it's a good thing I have Sister Meh to keep me calm because sometimes I feel like I am going 100mph with no brain. Haha! We are both working really well together and trying to figure out the best thing for Yuen Long. We have been struggling a little with encouraging the ward members to do missionary work, and President Lam told us to be bold but loving/patient/meek/humble, so that's what we are trying to do! I really do have a lot of faith in both Yuen Long 1 and 2! I don't know what the Lord has in store, but I really do think Sister Meh and I can make some changes here and help these areas progress :)

Our investigators are doing really good! We went over the baptismal interview questions with Alice yesterday and she still looks solid for the 25th. She says that she has been feeling the Spirit more in her life and that she is still wanting to be baptized so I know the Lord is helping us prepare her as well. She also has not had any green tea in a while now so that is a blessing and miracle!

We had a long talk with Laahn Je last week about her smoking problem. We didn't know if she was being truthful with us about completely stopping smoking so we had to clear the air with her. She admitted that she's been doing 3 cigarettes a day (usually right after meals) which is an improvement from her pack a day when we first met her, but we are still working with her to stop. She said it was too hard to quit and that she couldn't do it. We tried to comfort her and let her know we would work with her and so would the Lord. We told her she couldn't do it anymore and gave her some candy to eat when she has the urge to smoke. She's had a couple of slip ups, but she called us today to tell us she hasn't smoked the past 3 days! I know the Lord can strengthen all of us and that we can all overcome any weaknesses we may have. He's already doing that with

Also, some of you probably already know this, but from now until Chirstmas, the church is doing a #LightTheWorld plan where every day between now and Christmas you do one thing to serve others and light the world. We can talk about Christ and learn about Him, but it is another thing to become like Him. John 8:12 says "I am the light of the world..." but Matthew 5:14-16 says "Ye are the light of the world..." These scriptures don't contradict each other, but they explain that we can become like the Savior. As we follow this plan, we become more Christ-like and share the light that shines within us with all those around us. So if you haven't started already, I encourage all of you to #LightTheWorld and follow this plan! There is also a really awesome short video at https://www.mormon.org/ that you should also check out! I am doing this plan as well and I promise you that blessings come from lighting the world and you really do become more like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I love all of you! Have a great week! Go and #LightTheWorld!

Scripture of the Week: Romans 5:19 One person can affect many people so set a good example for others.

Quote of the Week: The things that you can't count are the things that matter most.

Sister Maggie Shiffert施姊妹

In case you don't have this, here is the #LightTheWorld for the next week!

We had dinner with Cheung Family last night! they are so sweet and kind!

​

Katherine is leaving to go serve a mission in Vancouver Canada tomorrow! :( But she will be awesome! She already is! :)

Sunday, November 27, 2016

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed the holidays! this past week was crazy but it was a good kid of crazy! There were so many blessings this past week. I don't even know where to begin! We had Thanksgiving dinner as a zone and Sister Leonard and I now know how to cook a full turkey! Haha! It was actually a really good turkey and no one got food poisoning so I would call Thanksgiving a success! Everyone made sides and even the dishes the elders made were super yummy! My contribution was brownies, but I made them Thanksgiving-y by making a turkey out of M&M's (thanks Mom!).

On Sunday, we had the miracle of Laahn Je coming to church! We have been asking her to come for a while now and she finally said okay! She seemed to like it but 3 hours is a long time for her so she got a little sleepy haha! She doesn't understand any gospel terms so I am not sure how much she actually got out of church, but I know she could feel the Spirit :)

I think the highlight of the week was Carson and Winnie got baptized yesterday! Almost all of our ward stayed for their baptism and I was so happy so many people were there and able to support them. Even the stake president and President and Sister Lam came to support them! So the funny background behind this family is that our stake president President Chan was one of the missionaries that originally taught Cat and her family over 20 years ago. Cat went less active but then President Chan heard both of her kids were being baptized so this was a miracle story in his eyes.

It was honestly the most spiritual baptism services I have ever been to! When Carson and Winnie went to go and bear their testimonies, both of them started crying. There was not one dry eye in that room! I was expecting Cat to cry, but I wasn't expecting Carson and Winnie to cry. They really are amazing kids and already have super strong testimonies. I love Carson and Winnie so much and I honestly feel so blessed to have to opportunity to introduce the gospel into their lives! I know this gospel is going to bless them and their family so much! Cat is always telling us that she needs to change herself and be a good example for her kids, but I feel like she has already set a good example for them by introducing them to the church and being so involved. Seeing Cat the way she is now, I never would have thought she was less active, but sometimes the people that go less active and come back to the church have the strongest testimonies.

There's not much to say, but there are a lot of pictures this week! I hope all of you have a great week! I love and miss you all!

Scripture of the Week: Mark 12:30-31 We should love all people and show that love towards them constatly.

Quote of the Week: Never let a problem to be solved be more important than a person to be loved.